Will Minnesota Get Raided This Off-Season?

It can’t be argued that Minnesota is having one of their best seasons in the Target Field era. Rocco Baldelli and his coaching staff have helped to get the most out of their core group of players and have this team on pace for close to 100 wins. For the front office, there could be some blame thrown around for not doing enough at the deadline, but they certainly added enough pieces last off-season to put this club on the winning track.

Minnesota looks like a team on the rise and this could mean other teams come looking for coaches and front office personnel.

Boston shocked a lot of the baseball world on Sunday as they fired General Manager Dave Dombrowski less than a calendar year after he delivered the team a title. The Red Sox are entering a tumultuous time in their organization and the ownership didn’t feel Dombrowski was the right man for the job. He was hired to do what he did, win the World Series, but it could be time for the franchise to rebuild and he might not fit that mold.

Besides the Red Sox, there will be plenty of other organizations searching for upgrades in the front office and to their coaching staffs. Every team is looking to gain a step up on other organizations. Here are three names that could be with different organizations this offseason.

Daniel AdlerCurrent Role: Director, Baseball OperationsAdler took a unique route to his current position with the Twins organization. His professional experience started as an intern in the MLB’s Labor Relations Department where he worked on the CBA including baseball’s compensation system. He spent a couple of years in the private sector before joining the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars. With Jacksonville, he headed up a brand-new Football Research and Development Department.

Baseball organizations are finding some of the best minds in unique ways. Plenty of the game’s operating leadership have degrees from Ivy League universities. Adler holds a Harvard law and business degree. He has spent time in multiple fields and has a way of changing an organization’s system.

“Finding things yet to be identified is important,” said Adler, “but being able to utilize the things you already know is more important.”

Jeremy ZollCurrent Role: Director, Minor League OperationsZoll has been on the fast track throughout his professional career as he is the youngest person in his role among all 30 MLB teams. He is in his second year in the Twins organization after he came to the club from the Dodgers organization. With Los Angeles, he served as their Assistant Director of Player Development for multiple seasons. He worked to develop player plans and assisted the Research and Development department.

"His reputation, even at a less experienced, younger age, of galvanizing staffs and creatively (instituting) development programs for players, really got our attention," said Thad Levine. "He's got the ability to communicate very clearly to the 16-year-old Venezuelan kid or the college senior.”

"There's a presence about him that probably belies age. But I think the backbone of it really was he had such rave reviews from the senior staffers that he worked with in the past."

James RowsonCurrent Role: Hitting CoachIt’s hard to argue with what Rowson has done during his tenure in Minnesota. During his first year on the job, the Twins scored 815 runs and cracked 206 home runs. Both totals were in the franchise’s top four best season before the 2019 campaign and the introduction of the Bomba Squad. It would be hard to list out everything this offense has done this year and Rowson is a key cog in the Twins hitting machine.

“I think the environment that we’ve created here as an organization allows everybody to feel comfortable in their own skin,” Rowson said. “Each guy is just worried about having the best at-bat they can and there’s nothing holding them down mentally. They’re clear-minded, and that creates good at-bats, and that gets contagious.

Will all three of these names be back with the Twins next year? Who else do you think could be raided from the Twins this winter? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

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70 Comments

I respectfully disagree. Falvey and Levine hired those 3 guys named above, who have done so well, plus Wes Johnson. Plus quickly assembled one of the best the best Twins' roster with some really good free agents (Cruz, Gonzales, Schoop, claimed Cron off of waivers,traded Palacios for Odorizzi, signed Kepler and Polanco to team friendly extensions the winter before they each had breakout seasons and hired Rocco...what have I left out?). Yes they lost a few players, but none were David Ortiz.

In fact, by the forum rules, the original post was actually trolling. Would you rather have had me infract the poster with an official warning or gently poke fun of a terrible take on baseball? Here at Twins Daily, we frown heavily upon one sentence, negative takes that offer nothing to further meaningful discussion. Particularly takes that are meant only to inflame the board and further encourage more bad one sentence mouth-breaths on the subject. We're not RubeChat. There's also a reason RubeChat shut down.

But nice try to turn my rebuttal on a bad take back at me, tiger.

Brock, I must say I also was surprised by the negative tone of your rebuttals, especially referring to the other posters as "champ" and "tiger". . I appreciate the fact that you are an owner and I thank you for this site and the opportunity to post my views.So....How about those Twins !.

Brock, I must say I also was surprised by the negative tone of your rebuttals, especially referring to the other posters as "champ" and "tiger". . I appreciate the fact that you are an owner and I thank you for this site and the opportunity to post my views. So....How about those Twins !.

If you were to go back and review Channing's posting history regarding Falvey, I think you'd understand Brock's lack of patience.

Channing has posted, multiple times, and without sarcasm, that he thinks Falvey is covertly operating under the employment of the Indians, intentionally tanking the Twins in order to benefit Cleveland.

If a poster has that view of Falvey, I don't think some pushback is to be unexpected.

Brock, I must say I also was surprised by the negative tone of your rebuttals, especially referring to the other posters as "champ" and "tiger". . I appreciate the fact that you are an owner and I thank you for this site and the opportunity to post my views.So....How about those Twins !.

It honestly was just meant as a joke but apparently fell flat. Calling a one year old baseball fan "champ" just seemed kind of funny to me and I didn't intend for it to have a negative tone.

I suspect Rowson will get mentioned and probably at least 1 interview. Zoll certainly should be on someone's radar and much as I would prefer to keep this team intact I wouldn't be shocked at all if either of those two (or both) got swept up by another franchise. I'm going to guess less likely on Adler in part because he's lower profile but also because his role is one where I think a lot of teams still probably think they can invent their own. But YMMV.

I'm amused at the anti-Falvine comments. Coupled with the instant overreactions to every win/loss/injury/event these tell me one singular fact: the Twins are now relevant enough again for people to get invested in and at least occasionally lose their minds over.

In fact, by the forum rules, the original post was actually trolling. Would you rather have had me infract the poster with an official warning or gently poke fun of a terrible take on baseball? Here at Twins Daily, we frown heavily upon one sentence, negative takes that offer nothing to further meaningful discussion. Particularly takes that are meant only to inflame the board and further encourage more bad one sentence mouth-breaths on the subject. We're not RubeChat. There's also a reason RubeChat shut down.

But nice try to turn my rebuttal on a bad take back at me, tiger.

What? That post wasn't trolling. In a post about people who might get poached from the Twins, he indicated he hoped Falvine would get poached. That's not trolling whatsoever. It may be a dumb opinion but it was on topic and didn't belittle anyone.

As someone with four warning points, I can't believe that you're defending yourself on this. It was clearly over the top coming back. I thought that before I saw the comment.

If you were to go back and review Channing's posting history regarding Falvey, I think you'd understand Brock's lack of patience.

Channing has posted, multiple times, and without sarcasm, that he thinks Falvey is covertly operating under the employment of the Indians, intentionally tanking the Twins in order to benefit Cleveland.

If a poster has that view of Falvey, I don't think some pushback is to be unexpected.

I've been dinged for getting frustrated at people whose history regarding Joe Mauer was as ridiculous as Channing's with Falvine. There need to be universal standards on these things.

1.) I think there is little chance that Derek Shelton is back, unless there just aren't more than a couple of manager jobs open.

2.) As for Falvey and pitching... he's known for developing the pitching in Cleveland's system... no signing big free agents. Acquiring a guy like Kluber and developing the likes of Salazar, Carrasco, Clevinger, Bieber, Civale, etc.... The Twins are going to try to do the same, and we are starting to see the very early results of that in 2019. Think of the likes of a Randy Dobnak, who they brought in two years ago and developed. Think about the likes of Duran, Alcala, Smeltzer that they have acquired in trades. Think about what they have done to the velocities of the likes of Graterol and Colina. Think about the likes of Ober and Balazovic and Sands and Winder, guys drafted and developed. Could 1-2 of those guys be aces? Kluber certainly wasn't an "ace" as a prospect. Neither was Civale. Bieber was said to have some upside... We'll see how it pans out, but i like the track record and the development plans.

Yes, yes, yes.You were able to put my thoughts into a comment much better than I could.Thank you, Seth, thank you, thank you!

This would be a terrible outcome that would probably set the organization back years, how would this be a positive? It took a few years but Falvey and Levine’s efforts to upgrade the front office and player development staff, change the culture and fully integrate analytics clearly paid off organization wide this year. Imagine what another year could bring!

I'm hoping that NOW Falvey and Levine will have free reign. After being hampered by keeping Molitor, as well as working with inherited players, the team has now created a management structure in the front office that SHOULDN'T LOSE ANYONE YET, as well as putting together a field staff, minor league system organization, and the beginnings of players that they feel will mesh as the Twins future continues.

2019 has been a unique year. The division looked a tad weak, with the Indians being in a beatable position. The Indians have proven to be more than beatable, suffering their own injuries, but still managing to cobble together a highly competitive team. The front office made some fine signings with eyes towards keeping the Twins competitive, but the team broke out strong, moreso that possible trade chips to further improve a team on the rise ahd to remain as the team hit a highpoint. If the Twins were runners up, no doubt they would've explored more extremes to trading pieces like Gibson, Castro, Pineda, Schoop and Odorizzi at the deadline, as no doubt none of them will return to the team in 2020. But the Indians didn't run away, and the Twins now have some openings (basically same openings they had at the trade deadline....need for a top-flight starter, need for a possible secondar starter, a closer, and a solid bullpen arm...preferably with team control.

The team, going into 2020, has hard decisions on where Rosario, Buxton, Sano and Berrios fit into the organization and how much they wish to spend to keep them in the organization. Decisions made on those four will cause fan outcry, either allowing the players to go elsewhere (with healthy returns), or cries of overpayment.

Falvey and Levine still have two more years under their contract. 2020 will be a tough season, as they have to rebuild a rotation, and hope the offense stays pretty close to the same. The purse strings could open a tad more. There are a number of potential prospects who could make their major league debut in 2020, and actually too many bodies for protected roster spots in the years 2020-2022 under contract right now...so the fact that the Twins didn't put together a dynmaite package fo someone (say Grienke, who didn't want to play here) which would've made them more competitive in a playoff situation and the Astros less, is moot now.

As fans, we can get mad if a team plays a bit with smoke and mirrors, creating a team to win the division but coming up constantly in the playoffs. Sure, Minnesota can't afford to have tens of millions sitting in limbo or on the bench (that they released Addison Reed was a shocker). But, again, no one says a little David can't knock down a Goliath. Put your best pitchers against the other teams worst pitchers in the playoffs. Hope you can figure out the perfect lineup construction. See how hard the players will play when extending the season or going home is on the line.

But back to the beginnings of this post. The Twins see value in Rowson as a hitting coach, otherwise he wouldn't have been a holdover. Jeremy and Dan have pretty powerful and solid positions in the organization and someday...if Falvey and Levine run a decade+ dynasty in this town, they will go elsewhere when a job materializes, but right now the Twins could still throw money their way, and if the guys are comfortable....they stay. But if there are cracks in the system that we fans aren't seeing, they will explore better opportunities.

Let's just hope the Twins, in the current state, can hold on to the division and make the playoffs. That would be dynamite. Thoughts of a 95+ winning season are beautiful. But it ain't over until it is over!

I wish we can stop talking about Falvey and Levine and give props to Rocco, Wes Johnson and the rest of the staff

I agree, except it was F&L that found and hired the coaching staff. Folks that do the hiring should get due credit for that. Rocco, Johnson and Rowston wouldn't be here if the Twins didn't have a pretty darn smart front office team.

So much for the FO and coaches. What about all of the 1 year free agent signings that blended together so well? I think its fair to say that the team that opens in 2020 will be far different than this 2019 bunch who have complimented each other so well. Unfortunately the 100 win season, if it happens, will be the result of the pre All Star game record and being almost injury free during the first half. Rosario led the league in home runs early and Kepler has had a career year. Twins had the best record in MLB for a time. The team taking the field now is a team trying to maintain a winning record over the remaining games and get into the playoffs as a result of the first half excellence.

Again, I am more concerned about the makeup of the team next year than suit and tie giys and coaches getting raided.

In the mean time, lets simply enjoy watching 2019 play itself out. Maybe more surprises in store.

You said something Number 3 that has been a burr under my saddle much of the summer.And considering today's tone on this site, I am in no way being critical of what you said as I have read it in the traditional media as well as heard it from the broadcast booths.

The comment is that the Twins were healthy during the first half of the season.Considering that they played the first six weeks of the season without their most dangerous power hitter, Miguel Sano, that just isn't true.Can you imagine the power numbers he would have right now had he had a regular spring training and had played in say 125-130 games (versus the 91 he had played)?

'Raided' implies a scenario where another company/organization comes in and 'steals' the employee by overpaying to have that person perform the same job/responsibilities for the raiding organization. I think what is meant in the article...and what is more realistic in the real world...is that these people would receive new opportunities with added responsibilities...promotions...in new organizations.

I see that in the case of the first two. But, what is the scenario for Rowson leaving? For a hitting coach to MLB manager promotion? I guess maybe a team could offer him an 'assistant manager - hitting' title with a hefty raise? Unlikely. I think hitting coach is a position you leave if you choose to change the direction of your career...or, more often, when you're fired.

If you were to go back and review Channing's posting history regarding Falvey, I think you'd understand Brock's lack of patience.
Channing has posted, multiple times, and without sarcasm, that he thinks Falvey is covertly operating under the employment of the Indians, intentionally tanking the Twins in order to benefit Cleveland.
If a poster has that view of Falvey, I don't think some pushback is to be unexpected.

i absolutely do not expect everyone to agree with me 100% however, i can cite at least 3 specific moves that infuriated me last year. Escobar, Pressly, and Rodney. And in 2017 what was that Jaime Garcia fiasco? Does anyone even remember what we got for our closer at the time Brandon Kintzler? I am more than an average fan and frankly I am not impressed with either of them. I do not begrudge anyone to think they are the reason for any of our successes. I just know better. I realize this is a "pro" ownership site and most of you weren't old enough to enjoy the Championship Seasons or even realize what was really happening. Believe me, if we win another one, it will be because of the players and the manager on the field. Not the owner, the gm, the CEO, or the yes men.If they love it here so much let em stay...maybe some day they could carry Andy McPhails briefcase for him.

Put me in the room that is still amazed Pressly was traded. And who couln't have used Escobar? Prospects? This was not the year for prospects. Especially A-ball and below prospects. This was a year to make a team ready for the playoffs. Winning regular season games is nice. But hitting great pitching under pressure is what makes champions. When the Twins bring up pitchers they develop that perform like Walker Buehler and Tony Gonsolin and Julio Urías, I'll be buying in, but not when the call ups perform like Stashak and Smeltzer. I could have used a signing of DJ LeMahieu instead of Schoop, for sure, and was disappointed in the decision, and still am. We have some over acheiving on offense that has made things a lot of fun, no doubt. But I am not enamored to a point of gushing. The break outs that have carried this team were not due to the current FO. But Cruz was. Times are changing, and I hope that the shifts are not always used when they don't have to be. If a group gels, and then they just split up the gang for a little more cash..... so be it. But hopefully they are developing staff that feels like a "community" and sees beyond the greenbacks, and stick around make us all believers. Proof is in building a team that can not only get to the post season, but win in the post season. This might be a tough year to do it, with the pitching staff that has been assembled (or should that be not assembled?), and with either Houston or New York in an ALDS.... that is, if this team can take it to the finish line.

unbelievably a voice of reason in a sea of insanity...bravo sir. I am still waiting for Derek Falveys autographed framed photo to come in the mail so i can put on the wall in my office.

i absolutely do not expect everyone to agree with me 100% however, i can cite at least 3 specific moves that infuriated me last year. Escobar, Pressly, and Rodney. And in 2017 what was that Jaime Garcia fiasco? Does anyone even remember what we got for our closer at the time Brandon Kintzler? I am more than an average fan and frankly I am not impressed with either of them. I do not begrudge anyone to think they are the reason for any of our successes. I just know better. I realize this is a "pro" ownership site and most of you weren't old enough to enjoy the Championship Seasons or even realize what was really happening. Believe me, if we win another one, it will be because of the players and the manager on the field. Not the owner, the gm, the CEO, or the yes men.If they love it here so much let em stay...maybe some day they could carry Andy McPhails briefcase for him.

Escobar was a pending free agent during an 84 loss season.
They attempted to sign him to an extension, he said no thanks- which is his right.
They got back some pretty good prospects, rather than watch him leave for nothing. Is your problem with that move that you don't think they got enough in return, or that you'd rather he left for nothing?

Pressley looks like it could have been a mistake. Every FO makes mistakes. I'm not sure if you're demanding perfection or not.

I'm not exactly sure what your problem is with trading 41 year old Fernando Rodney is. He was released by Oakland in May because he was terrible, and would be the worst regular pitcher in our bullpen this year.

Jaime Garcia fiasco? Garcia is now out of baseball. In return, we got Zach Littell who has an ERA 48% better than league average, and has 19 scoreless outings in his last 20 appearances.

Your criticism of a move that worked out as well as the Garcia one did, combined with you conveniently omitting moves like trading Jermaine Palacios for Jake Odorizzi, signing Nelson Cruz and Marwin Gonzalez, working out valuable extensions for Kepler and Polanco, etc., makes it hard for me not to think you made up your mind early on these guys and nothing they could have done or will do would change your mind.